What Networking and Creative Wellness Have in Common
I Didn’t Leave STEM Behind. I Added What Was Missing
In high school, I was torn between two things I loved: biology and fine art. I filled my days with chemistry, calculus, and physics, but I spent every free moment in the art room. When it came time to choose a university path, my parents encouraged me to study science. They were helping me pay for school, and they believed biology would open more doors than art. I agreed, and I threw myself into it.
I studied biology in my undergrad, then plant physiology, and eventually earned a PhD in molecular biology. My career took me through research labs, patents, government funding programs, and later into quality assurance and regulatory affairs for medical devices. On paper, my career looked structured and straightforward.
The truth is that it wasn’t. My path was shaped less by a plan and more by curiosity and conversations.
My Career Grew from Networking
During my interview with Aarna Sahu on her podcast Aarna’s News, I shared that most of my jobs didn’t come from applications. They came from people I met.
Networking has never been my natural strength. As an introvert, walking into a room full of strangers used to feel overwhelming. But I learned that if I aimed to have three genuine conversations at an event, it felt manageable. Those three conversations often led to opportunities I didn’t know existed.
One of those conversations led me to a not-for-profit that paired graduate students with companies for applied research. Another led me to the federal government, where I worked on academic and industry partnerships. Later, a chat at a local event introduced me to someone at StarFish Medical. He mentioned they needed help with proposals, and that conversation turned into a career pivot into business development, then quality assurance and regulatory affairs.
Networking is not about self-promotion. It is about being curious, listening to people’s stories, and being willing to ask questions. That same openness later shaped the way I approach wellness.
The First Signs of Burnout
While I was building my career, something important started to fade. I slowly let go of my creative side. Painting and drawing became rare. At first, I told myself I was too busy. There were always deadlines to meet and problems to solve. Over time, I felt foggy and exhausted. Even on days when everything went smoothly, I was still tense.
I didn’t realize it right away, but I was burned out.
What I needed was not a major career change. I needed a way to reconnect with the part of me that made sense of things through creativity.
Rediscovering Creativity
I started with small experiments. A few minutes of drawing. A page of colour swatches that matched my mood. No pressure to create anything finished or polished. Just a way to pause and breathe.
It felt like something inside me was realigning. I later learned why.
Books like Your Brain on Art and Burnout helped me understand that creative practices regulate the nervous system. They reduce stress hormones, increase dopamine, and create a state of flow that allows both the brain and body to rest. These effects are not reserved for artists. They happen when anyone engages in simple creative acts.
That is how I started to build what I now call creative wellness. It is a practical way to feel more grounded, especially for women in STEM who are used to solving problems but rarely given space to reflect.
A Practice That Takes Only Minutes
One of the simplest practices I share is called Bringing In and Letting Go. All you need is a piece of paper and something to write with.
Draw a line down the middle. On the left side, write or draw something you are ready to release. On the right side, add something you want to welcome in. It could be as simple as letting go of overthinking and welcoming calm.
There is no right or wrong way to do this. The purpose is to make what you are feeling visible, even just to yourself.
The Connection Between Networking and Wellness
Networking taught me something valuable. Small, intentional steps create opportunities. It is not about doing everything. It is about showing up and starting conversations.
Creative wellness works the same way. You do not need to overhaul your life or become an artist. You just need to start with one small thing. Five minutes with a pen and paper. A quick colour sketch. A single moment of reflection.
The small steps are enough to create momentum. Just like meeting three new people at a networking event, these small creative acts build confidence and clarity over time.
Three Questions to Reflect On
If you have been feeling disconnected, consider these questions:
- What part of myself have I been ignoring?
- When during the day do I feel most tense or distracted?
- What would happen if I gave myself five minutes of creativity this week?
These small moments can create a surprising sense of relief.
What I Wish I Had Known
During the podcast, I shared that I did not even know the field of industrial design and human factors existed until I joined StarFish Medical. It blends science, creativity, and user experience. If I had known about it earlier, I might have pursued that path.
But I also know that every step I took taught me something valuable. It taught me that you cannot always predict the next chapter. Sometimes you find your path through curiosity, conversation, and paying attention to what feels energizing.
The same lesson applies to creativity. You do not need to wait for the perfect moment. You can start now with what you already have.
An Open Invitation
If my story resonates with you, I would love to share two free resources I have created:
- The Creative Shift, my weekly newsletter, where I share simple exercises, reflection prompts, and creative wellness tips.
- The 5-Day Creative Reset Challenge, a gentle introduction to small creative practices that help you feel more like yourself.
You do not need to wait for your schedule to clear or for stress to go away. You can start with five minutes. That is how I started. Those five minutes changed everything.